The developers are returning from their break. And the first Hotfix almost instantly released is dedicated to putting an end to the item duplication bug. That is right, it was a bug, not an intended feature many in the community wanted the rest of us to believe was not a happy accident. (Most of us knew better). Now I hate to let frustration and angst get the better of me, but I have backed and supported this game for many years, and it is time we received REAL transparency. Of all the bugs plaguing 4.0 that make the game harder and HARDER to experience, like blacking out when healing or drinking, mission markers not appearing, falling through planets, Klesher making us serve a life sentence, ASOP and hangars eating our ships just for simply asking them to store or retrieve our ships, players unable to even log in to the game, and many, many others. Why is the bug that makes the game EASIER to experience deserving of its own Hotfix, and the main target once you all have returned to the office? I understand that many people were abusing this bug. I acknowledge that. But I also acknowledge that even MORE players were using this bug simply to give weapon racks a use, and to be able to make copies of their paid fps items so that they could use said items, without fear of losing them until the next wipe due to the many, many bugs that will kill you in a heartbeat, rendering their paid gear unretrievable otherwise. Why? Because there is still NO WAY to get them back by other "intended" means. We were supposed to have this actual feature with the hangar update. Where did that go? What could possibly be so complicated about retrieving fps gear that has delayed it this long with little to no comments on the matter? Again, I don't want to act like I know everything, and I hate letting frustration get the better of me. But we all know enough to understand that this system does not need to be as complicated as you seem to be leading it on to be. And there are far more than just myself who are frustrated. In my personal and humble opinion, the moment you started selling guns, armor, and other FPS gear on the store page, you should have had a system in place to retrieve them. It's been far to long for even the simplest of solutions. And no, melting down the paid items and repurchasing them with store credit to get them back into your inventory is not the correct answer. Someone else mentioned that "crafting" will be the solution. How many years will we need to wait for that feature to come to fruition to solve this problem? Why do we feel that the first iteration of gear retrieval needs to be the last one? Especially when we have had countless other "Tier 0's" of other mechanics not quite fledged out yet. Why are we so concerned that I can pull out a gun I bought on the store and give it to my friend? When I can pull out my Polaris, park it at the commons of New Babbage unlocked, claim it, spend some credits, and in 20 minutes have a second Polaris, the strongest ship in the game to date, and let whoever take both of them and wreck any havoc they want? And as many, MANY other people in the community will say, I am not a developer. That is why I am here, asking the devs, and asking for transparency. Because if in one day you can fix a bug making the game easier, why do we need to wait a week or longer to fix bugs making the game impossible to play? Chris said he wants to focus for 2025 to be on "Playability and Stability". And I know were are only 6 days into this, but already people are noticing the same things I am bringing up now. And recognize people used this bug because there is still no intended alternative provided by you, as the developers. And we can only speculate that; A: it is being made far to over complicated or B: You simply do not care, and it is not a focus. And if you don't believe that people think you don't care, go to Spectrum. Take number of the countless people asking why there is still no system in place, and how many people respond with, "because they do not care". And no they are not being sarcastic or facetious, they are giving what they genuinely believe to be the correct answer because you have failed to lead them to believe anything else. 4.0 started out strong. Real strong. For the first time since this projects cultivation, it actually felt like a game and not a bloated tech demo. People heard the good news, and came to join. And its evident that the servers degraded either due to the immense traffic or by other means. Regardless, the experience soured. But I know that doesn't mean you guys won't turn it around. That being said, myself and many others are holding you guys to the Chairmens promise. On your focus on playability and stability. Because I would love to recommend this game to many people, but the experience needs to be addressed. It cannot fight the user every step of the way for hours just to get that dopamine hit of everything working as intended with gorgeous views of a planet with volumetric clouds turned on to the max and having that serenity for 4 minutes, before the fight starts all over again. I hope this piece does not upset any one, and I hope it is not taken down and removed. If I have posted this in the wrong location, inform me, and I will put it where it would be better suited. Understand that the frustration and angst exists because there is also passion. That if people like me didn't care, there would be no project. We want this to succeed just as badly as we want Transparency. And so, I will ask again, in short. Why was this bug target fixed while many other bugs ruin the experience for so many players? And can we expect Gear Retrieval to be on the TOP of the list for Feature Development, with the statement in mind that you are separating Content Creation from Feature Development, for a smoother, more stable experience within the live build? Thank you.